What is Stimming? Stims explained from an Autistic perspective 

My daughter would hold in her stims while she was at school, and would end up “acting out” when she got home. I finally told her that she shouldn’t be holding them in, that she needed to stim whenever she needed to, and her behavior started to regulate when she got home. Now, if a teacher talks to her about her stimming, her classmates speak up for her, and I think that is so sweet.

I feel our stims are quite often a build up of energies that must be released in some form

Interesting you mentioned crochet. I used to crochet and knit allllllllll the time, I would take it everywhere with me. Then I had a kid and have no focus or energy to do it anymore, and have been sooo disregulated. I may have to pick it back up again. I love your videos, they help me understand myself more.

I love the way you link stimming to nonverbal communication! It's a wonderful voiceless language

Bees wax is an extremely good tactile stim tool. You can craft it into things too, so it's great for creativity. That's what I use.

I crochet as well, like, alllll the time. Im 53 and have yet to be diagnosed, but I'm certain I'm on the spectrum and I'M 100% certain I have ADD. I twirl my hair, pick at scabs(gross, i know), peeling skin (sunburns etc). I write, a lot. I have hundreds of writting utensils, but mostly just cuz I like them. Oh, and i play with and twirl my rings, constantly. I count everything, and it always must be even when Im finished. Things must be straight, clothes are seperated by season etc. Im always humming or have some tune in my head and repeat a line of a song over and over and over until I want to scream. My brain is SO scattered, Im scatterbrained for sure. I have zero short term memory. I'm sure many people think Im odd, but its ok; Im the only one who has to like me. 😊

I never understood why I was shamed for humming, tapping, blowing straw bubbles, moving around, making silly noises, etc. As of yesterday I know why I did them, but I have yet to figure out why those actions call for shame. I am in agreement, this has to change.

Its something we're finally becoming painfully aware of one of our worst qualities as human beings, the next thing we must overcome in order to progress, our knee jerk reactions and tendencies to shut out and shun the different, and more specifically how deep it runs, but as we do so we can look out into the world with new eyes and realize just how much we previously walled off from ourselves and can finally start breaking those societal barriers down, leading to a better world.

Beautifully put, as always. Thank you.

Very interesting video! I used to wonder why I found jobs like doing admin work using Excel on the computer so satisfying because it's a repetitive rhythmic process - keyboard commands, going through each row of editing. Whereas other people find it so boring and I could never understand why! :D Thank you for bringing a new, updated awareness on this topic. Tiktok has also made me realise that there are so many autistic people out there, where people see them as 'fine' or 'normal' - which destroys the stereotype! Thank you

A lot of my stims were like an amateur lesson in physics, like you said yours helped you with photography. I’ve taught myself so many things from being naturally curious and bored.

Excellent video, very informative for me & to share with my neurotypical friends (all two of them!😉) when I tell them I'm autistic & they either think I'm a hypochondriac--I actually resisted labelling myself with Asperger's since, when I first heard of it from a member of my ADHD support group, I felt like it fit me, but when I read the diagnostic criteria back in 2001, it sounded a lot MORE like my then-husband, so I finally THOUGHT I understood why he was so distant ... but then it turned out the reason I didn't behave the same way he did that convinced me _I_ wasn't autistic was that he also had 'Avoidant Personality Disorder,' which is probably what I'd have named it myself if I'd never looked up 'Asperger's Syndrome'! So thank the RU-vid algorithm for figuring it out FOR me & recommending me the same 'Could you be undiagnosed autistic & not know it???' video over & over until I gave in & watched it & took the AQ test & found out I have 'significant autistic traits,' 38/50 & all the symptoms fit! Yet we managed to stay married for 15 years, although being WITH him made me feel LONELY plus having to do everything alone & getting rude people asking me questions like, 'Why isn't your husband with you?' or 'What does your husband think about you doing [x] without him?' which is right up there with, 'So, when are you going to start having kids?' He really didn't CARE what I did & I had no idea where he was or when he was coming back most of the time, which even his _family_ members couldn't believe when they'd call, and, once he got a cell phone, if I tried to call him, he wouldn't answer it! Yet HE was the one who kept refusing to split up!🤦‍♀ Just one question: What _IS_ dermatillomania? (That one went by so fast, I couldn't see what it looked like, let alone read the spelling after several tries, but it sounds like one of my stims, like skin picking. (In high school I used to pull my eyelashes out!) FINALLY, just over a year since I found out I've been autistic for the past sixty years & counting, I understand why I DO--or use to do--so many of the things you're describing & can't stop!) Oh! Also THANK YOU for being the FIRST #ActuallyAutistic RU-vidr I've found to EXPLAIN Sensory Processing Disorder. Now I know I DEFINITELY have it but used to think it was something to do with ADHD or being a 'Highly Sensitive Person.' I even lost a JOB for being 'too sensitive'/'hypersensitive'! The example with the lights stabbing your eyes is SOOOO painfully familiar! In fact, I can''t even stand reading on a backlit computer screen! I sure can type ... but the screen making my vision go blurry is why I make (& miss) so many typos!

A wonderful and necessary video! So happy to see a new video from you :) I appreciate the terms you've used to explain and as always, thank you!

Hehe I have been considering getting back into knitting and crocheting. In elementary school I used to sit on the playground knitting. I remember one time my crush came up to me and I thought he was about to make fun of me, but instead he said "you're knitting? That's really cool, dude."

I do lots of stims, they usually arent disruptive, but when i am very excited, like such as: Seeing a cool plane Seeing a cool car Doing something right Winning something And more I do lots of disregulated stims

Actually crocheting whilst watching this! Crochet was really hard for me to learn, but once I got it, it was the best self regulatory activity for me. Lots of bright colours too, as I love colour. I really liked your work. Well done for learning!

This is berk beautifully shared and done. It moved my to tears. Thank you

This helped me, thank you 😊

You have a new subscriber! My 3 year old twin daughter is autistic and I am trying to learn as much as I can. I use to worry about hee future a lot. We are all so wonderfully made 🦄

Fun and entertaining. Thank you 🙏🏻 ❤

Thank you so much for this video

Thanks for this awesome content!

Thank you so helpful.

I just realised I ve spent thirty years stimming- 3yrs on the crochet too ❤❤❤❤

Yeeees Sara! (please answer me, i have doubts) I´m autistic(asperger syndrome) and i love your videos.I do stims that I didn't know I did like, pacing listening to music, when I was in school I did that a lot, echolalia, when I was little I did a lot and I still do like listening to movie phrases and I repeat, but in my mind, and what else what i do is rocking, when i do i feel comfort, that i distract myself from the outside world. Like I'm in a place with a lot of people like bars and cafes, and I start with this stim (rocking), but I have to stop, and that's very sad. I've never had a meltdawn, wait... When I was in situations with a lot of people, in places I had to be and couldn't leave, I would start crying and go very far, so no one would see me cry. And I really wanted to get out of there. She started crying and talking to me softly in my mind, but speaking out loud. I wanted so much to get out of there that it felt like I wasn't that person. And I couldn't stand it, I wanted to sometimes and I couldn't, but I had to be there. I suffered in silence. Is this a meldawn? If so, I've had many, when I was in these places. Thank you so much for lesting.

Thank you! 💜

Is there a patreon link please?

Excellent video. Maybe adding a transcript for future reference would be useful. Also, I'd really like to know where I can get those stim toys you featured.

hello i was wondering do you have a video explaining, how relationships can work with someone that has sensory overload discorder, and someone that hasnt got it how to ask questions and to bea able to understand what to do to help what questions to ask. about there sensory overload.

Thank you , i am a mom and this halping

❤🦄so glad to see you again! 👏👏

Please stop including burnt-in subtitles in the videos; we like to be able to turn them off. They are quite distracting otherwise. RU-vid can display its own subtitles just fine (and if you’re not happy with their speech recognition you can provide your own).